Before the Dawn
by justlook3
Summary: Plagued by nightmares after their experiences with the House of Refuge, Cassandra and Stone seek comfort in each other.


_ Baird was in bad shape when they reappeared in the parlor, so Stone left Jones with her and went upstairs looking for Cassandra._

_"Cassandra!" He yelled through the quiet of the house. It seemed different now, less hostile somehow, but Jacob was still on edge. Cassandra was alone with Katie and he'd realized too late how wrong they'd been about the seemingly innocent girl. A girl who was actually a murderer, maybe even a demon._

_He heard a soft whimper of pain and followed the sound into one of the rooms. Cassandra was lying on the floor, her clothes red with blood._

_"Oh God, Cassandra!" He ran to her side. "Katie?"_

_"She was . . . we . . ."_

_"We were wrong, I know. I figured it out. Where is she?"_

_"I . . .I killed her, I . . .think. . .but she . . ."_

_"Stabbed you?" Stone took a deep breath, trying to get clothes out of the way to get to Cassandra's wound._

_"Stone, no . . .I . . .I've been . . . ready to go . . .for so long . . .I just . . ."_

_"Cassie, don't, no, don't."_

_"I'm really sorry . . .sorry for . . . ."_

_He watched the light start to leave her eyes, nothing he could do but beg her not to go but it was too late . . . ._

"Cassie!" Jacob sat bold upright in bed, breathing heavily, sweating. His panic began to fade as reality set in. Over on the other bed in the room, Ezekiel grumbled a little bit and then rolled over, pulling the covers over his head.

_Well, at least I didn't wake him._

What the hell was that? Cassandra had killed Katie, or probably more accurately, given that the girl was well over a hundred and fifty years old, had ended her. Cassandra had been absolutely fine when they'd appeared in the living room after being released from the dollhouse. He wasn't completely sure that she was as fine as she appeared, but physically at least, she was okay. Much better off than poor Baird. Though Baird would probably backhand him for using that phrase.

They'd stopped for the night in a relatively comfortable inn in a mid-sized town. He and Jones took one room and the women had another one. He sighed, staring up at the ceiling. He wasn't going to get back to sleep for a while. He figured that the kid wouldn't even notice if he'd turned on the light to read. Except . . .and Stone sighed again. He'd left his book in the car. Damn. Luckily, he'd had the last shift with the car, so he had the car keys. So finally he got up, he'd been wearing sweatpants and a tee-shirt to sleep in so he figured it was acceptable for a quick outing. The room wasn't really that dark, the curtains were a bit on the flimsy side. So he was able to find his shoes, his hoodie and, after a little scrambling, both the car and room keys.

He started to walk past the sitting room on the ground floor, when he stopped and looked again. Sitting on the couch, her knees up to her chin, was Cassandra. She was dressed in pajamas, so she had at least tried to sleep. He walked in the room and before he knew it, he was sitting beside her.

"Hey," she said softly. "What are you doing up?"

"I . . ." Stone bit his lip, "woke up. Couldn't get back to sleep and remembered I left my book in the car. You?"

"Couldn't really sleep. Thought I'd come down here for a change of scenery."

"No sleep at all?"

"A little . . .but . . . ."

They fell into silence for a while. Then Stone felt like he had to speak. Why he wasn't sure, but he chalked it up to the lateness of the hour and the fact that he was still shaky. He never would have shared something this personal otherwise. "I had a nightmare."

Cassandra nodded."Yeah, me too, pretty much."

He turned to her. "She . . .I found you . . . bleeding out on the floor. I was too late and you . . . ."

Cassandra blinked back sudden tears.. "Mine wasn't that much different. But I died alone and scared . . . ."

"Oh, Cassie." Without thinking about it, he'd wrapped his arms around her. "We've been so caught up in everything else, worrying about Baird, being scared ourselves. You were alone with her. You were so brave but you must have been scared. That house . . .never been that scared in my life. And I wasn't alone with a murderer."

She nodded against his shoulder. "Don't tell Baird, promise me."

"I won't. But darlin', I don't think she's gonna underestimate you again. I know I won't. Not ever."

Cassandra made a sound that under different circumstances Jacob might have found adorable. A bit of a snuffle really. "You're just saying that."

"I'm not. You really . . ." He paused trying to figure out how to word things exactly, but he came up short. "You changed the way I see you."

He hoped it was adequate. He really wasn't able to tell her he was starting to trust her. But she'd been slowly and surely chipping away at his armor. It wouldn't be too long before she got back under his skin again. If he was honest, she'd never really left. But he couldn't . . .just couldn't let her in farther than she already was. _Says the man who still hasn't let her go_, his inner voice chided him.

Her voice was a little watery. "Do you think she'll see it that way?"

"She's hurtin' right now, but I'm sure she'll have a talk with you when she's feelin' better. She is a bit of a mother hen, it's not just you."

"Really?" Cassandra's voice was skeptical.

"Oh yeah, you should have heard her in Boston with me. Though I admit I'm a bit protective myself . . . ."

Cassandra huffed and moved away from him. "I noticed."

"Cassie, c'mon, you know I'm an old-fashioned guy. It's not because . . . ." He caught her and pulled her back toward him almost without thinking about it.

She looked at him. "I suppose you are a bit protective of Baird . . . ."

"Yeah, she hates that. And I don't know why I do it, given she can kick my ass."

"And you're even a little bit of Ezekiel."

"So are you."

"Well, he's just a kid." They both said together then chuckled a little bit.

His arms were still around her. Both of them were aware of it, but there was a certain comfort in the contact. Today had been terrifying. The mood now a little lightened, they probably should move apart. But they didn't.

Her hair had fallen in her face and he reached a hand up to brush it back. "There's reasons why I'm more protective of you . . . and it's not because of your tumor. . .but I can't . . .not yet."

"I know," she said, biting her lip. They stared at each other for a long time. Part of his brain was sending out warning flags but he couldn't look away. Then she leaned forward and kissed him. Why he wasn't prepared was beyond him, but the shock of it kept him from responding.

She pulled away, her eyes hurt. She started to push away, but he held firm to her.

"Don't go," he whispered.

He put a hand on her face to turn her back toward him. His eyes flicked down to her lips and back to meet her eyes. The move had to be hers. Their eyes locked and then finally she kissed him again. This time he responded, pulling her closer. They kept the kiss gentle and slow, comfort in the darkness. When the kiss ended, he kept her cradled in his arms. He noticed she looked a bit pale.

"You should go try and sleep. We both should." Though he knew that was easier said than done.

"Come with me," Cassandra said.

"I don't think that's a good idea . . . ."

"Just to hold me. I don't think you want to be alone either."

"No, no I don't. But I don't think Baird would appreciate . . . ."

"We have our own rooms. They didn't have any more twin rooms, there's a university group in here tonight. And with Baird being injured, we figured it was best just to get the two doubles. Jenkins muttered something about not being as stingy as Charlene."

"How did I miss that conversation?"

"You and Ezekiel just kinda grabbed your keys and ran off, arguing over the shower." Cassandra shrugged. "Apparently neither of you were paying attention."

"If Ezekiel notices . . . though I bet I'll be up before he is anyway."

She smiled at him and he was lost. Then he was kissing her again. Nothing was going to happen tonight but affection, but he was going to enjoy it as long as it lasted.

She sighed a little as they parted, part happy, part wistful. "Tomorrow it'll be back to normal between us."

"Not quite," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "Things have changed. After tonight, I won't be able to keep . . . .well, the wall's comin' down, Cassie. But it's slow. Okay? Can you give me time? And tonight?"

She nodded, her eyes hopeful. "And tonight?"

"I just want to hold you, like you do me. Just this affection. Anything more . . .not tonight. Maybe someday . . . ."

She smiled and nodded. This time when she went to move, he allowed her. She grabbed his hand and led him to her room.

When they fell asleep this time, cuddled around each other, there were no nightmares. Katie was banished to the hell she had come from. And their dreams were happy ones, full of hope.

"I have to go," he whispered in the morning, somewhat reluctantly. "It's gettin' late and I need to be in my room before Jones wakes up."

"I thought it would be easy to let you go," Cassandra said softly, her voice a little sad.

"I thought it would too. Maybe . . . ." Jacob sighed. This really was a losing battle. "How about a movie this weekend?"

"I'd like that. But if it's too much for you . . . ."

"I wouldn't have asked. We need to take this slow though, okay? Promise? "

She nodded. "I do. I have some issues of my own. Not really with you."

"And mine," he paused to kiss her, "are really more about me. But I've gotta go. We'll talk when we have some privacy again, okay?"

"Thank you for last night. I needed . . . well all of it."

"Me too."

He kissed her one more time with a bit more passion than any of their previous kisses. He knew it had to last for a while. Then he left her. But both of them were left with something they hadn't had when they set out on this mission.

Promise.

[end]


End file.
